2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWatchdog groups support effort to stop Christie from holding October election for U.S. Senate
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/watchdog_groups_support_effort_to_block_christie_from_holding_special_election_for_us_senate.htmlNJ Citizen Action and NJ Communities United said Christie's decision to spend $12 million on a special election just three weeks before the November general election was a waste of taxpayer dollars and could disenfranchise voters. Christie has said it's worth whatever it costs to install a new Senator quickly.
On Friday, the chairwoman of the Somerset County Democrats, Peg Schaffer, challenged Christies authority to call for the election, calling it illegal and an attempt to suppress the vote. Schaffer said her law firm asked for and was granted permission by the state appellate division to file a motion for emergent relief.
As New Jerseys largest citizen watchdog organization, we felt it was important to do what we can to ensure our members and the public have a voice and real opportunity to participate in a fair election for the open US Senate seat, Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action, said in a statement. "The governors decision to hold the special election less than three weeks before the regularly scheduled general election could cause voter confusion and disenfranchise newly registered voters as their registrations might not make it into the voting rolls by October 16."
Another article/commentary:
http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2013/06/christie_may_be_underhanded_bu.html
Christie may be underhanded but he ain't playing beanbag
The Democrats are crying foul. Somerset County Democratic chair Peg Schaffer is suing to halt the election on the grounds that Christies goal in calling it was to suppress turnout.
She certainly got that right. But Christie is a smart lawyer who has a whole lot of other smart lawyers working for him. They had that angle covered before they called the election. If turnout turns out to be low, thats politics.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)JustAnotherGen
(33,288 posts)Im voting Pallone in the primary as his voting record is stellar. But Booker will win. And Booker will also get people to the polls in October or November.
Bouno is getting zero recognition by Democrats at the National level.
Booker is and will.
It's much easier to press the button right down the D Section of the ballot if Booker is on it. The way this is going right now? It's just Republucan shenanigans.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)From Mother Jones:
...Meanwhile, another politician is mastering earned media (yes, same thing, but bear with us). Cory Booker, a Rhodes Scholar and Stanford football star, first gained notoriety when he moved into Newark's notorious Brick Towers after becoming a city council member. Then, in 2002, he tried to oust Sharpe James from his 16-year perch as mayor. Booker, derided as a carpetbagger and "not black enough" by James and his supporters, lost that race, but an Oscar-nominated documentary, Street Fight, brought him wider attention and guaranteed a rematch with the James machine. Still living in Brick Towers, he became mayor in 2006 and quickly lowered the homicide rate by an astonishing 36 percent, and doubled the number of affordable housing units, all while slashing the deficit and raising the salaries of many city workers.
This is remarkable stuff. But what propels Booker into the once-in-a-generation stratum of leaders is how he has enlisted his constituents to fight for a better cityand how he has used social media to do so.
Booker keeps up an awe-inspiring Twitter feed. He fields -and acts upon- complaints about broken streetlights and fire hydrants. He quotes philosophy and Scripture. He reminds Newarkians how to report landlords who don't turn on the heat. When Jersey Shore "star" Snooki tweeted "Ugh stuck in Nwk traffic is no fun," he replied, "Snooki! I'm the mayor where R U so I can give u a ticket 4 texting & driving we needs revenue!" He's also got the cityand followers from around the worldjoining his weight-loss efforts via the #letsmove hashtag.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/cory-booker-twitter-sarah-palin
I was impressed with him at the DNC:
He sounds like what we need in the Senate. Open-minded, not afraid to do new things while keeping to principles. It's the big picture he's into and making everyone's lives better. A little bit more from him about his life and sense of humor:
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/june/transcript-cory-booker-061912.html?view=print
I also liked this I found:
Don't speak to me about your religion by Corey Booker
Don't speak to me about your religion;
first show it to me in how you treat other people.
Don't tell me how much you love your God;
show me in how much you love all God's children.
Don't preach to me your passion for your faith;
teach me through your compassion for your neighbors.
In the end, I'm not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as I am in how you choose to live and give.
~ Corey Booker
I feel like I've got a grasp on this man now, and I'm impressed at what I'm reading and hearing. I hope that New Jersey will feel the same way and give him a chance to be their Senator.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)The timing is right, but it sucks that he'll have to run a campaign this year and next
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)No one has to vote on or approve this, right?
JustAnotherGen
(33,288 posts)Not a fan of Mulshine's commentary in general but it's perfectly legal. Unless all of these organizations working together can show it will disenfranchise people.
Truthfully - I could be one. We are trying to buy a house. I could get frozen out due to registration rules.
LiberalFighter
(53,432 posts)jenmito
(37,326 posts)"then an updated one with Christie proposing a special election costing an estimated $12 million.":
http://blogs.app.com/politicspatrol/2013/06/06/27420/
JustAnotherGen
(33,288 posts)It's own thread! I knew it was out there somewhere!
jenmito
(37,326 posts)I'll do it!
freshwest
(53,661 posts)jenmito
(37,326 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)jenmito
(37,326 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Might as well wait until the November election is certified which would be mid-November to swear him in. Until then NJ are going to be stuck with some pompous jackass in the seat for 5 months.
tabbycat31
(6,336 posts)he took office on Monday.
Cha
(304,682 posts)Rhiannon12866
(220,666 posts)Otherwise I might have missed it. This is terrific news!
sheshe2
(87,050 posts)Christie sure is following the party line~ voter suppression! Surprise surprise!
Kicking!